by Apple’s long-awaited AR/VR headset could be facing another round of delays. According to the latest supply chain data collected by Ming Chi KuoApple may have delayed mass shipments of its headphones until the second half of 2023 while it works to resolve software-related issues. Kuo had previously expected mass shipments to begin in the second quarter of 2023.
Bloomberg reported last week that Apple’s headsets will run on the “xrOS” platform, instead of the previously reported “realityOS” name. This is a change that the company has reportedly made internally in recent weeks. Not to be confused with the iPhone XR, Bloomberg says that the “xr” in this case stands for “extended reality”.
According to Kuo, changes and bugs within xrOS have caused Apple to delay mass shipments of its headphones until the second half of 2023. Kuo does not give any specific reasoning, but the assumption is based on his latest survey of the supply chain of Apple manufacturing. partners.
It’s important to remember that a delay in mass shipments doesn’t necessarily mean that Apple headphones won’t be announced in the first half of the year. Apple can always announce the product months in advance of actual availability, and that’s something it’s done in the past with products like the Apple Watch.
However, with that said, Kuo is concerned that a January announcement, as has been speculated, may be too early and ultimately be “detrimental to promotion and sales.”
Whether the media event schedule (previously estimated January 2023) will also be delayed has yet to be determined, but generally, if the time period between the media event and the final product’s mass mailing is too long, it’s detrimental. for promotion and sales.
Kuo also reiterates today that Apple headphones are expected to be a very niche product. He forecasts shipments of the device to be “less than 500,000 units” in 2023. Kuo’s prediction falls short of the consensus of other analysts, which range between 800,000 and 1.2 million units.
The 9to5Mac take
Apple is clearly taking longer than anticipated to perfect the first version of its mixed reality headset, but that shouldn’t be surprising. It’s a whole new category of products for the company, something they don’t usually like. With competition already in the market from the likes of Meta, there’s a clear need for Apple to get off to a good start with its own AR/VR hardware.
I also think it’s worth noting that Apple may continue to test and even release new AR and VR features on its other platforms in the meantime. This means that users can see what kinds of things can be done with AR/VR technology and developers can test the technology before dedicated headsets are actually available.
What do you think of the latest rumors and reports about Apple headphones? Still interested in seeing what the company has up its sleeve? Let us know below in the comments.
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